Owasippe an 'epic' destination? Mountain bikers say yes

Mountain bikers take on a section of trail at Brown County State Park in Indiana that was built by Alex Stewart and named an "Epic" ride by the International Mountain Biking Association. (Photo courtesy Alex Stewart)

BLUE LAKE TWP. — If new trails — up to 50 miles of them — are developed at Owasippe, the tourist draw could be “epic.”

That's the opinion of mountain bikers who are behind the design of new multi-use, single-track trails at the Boy Scout reservation in Blue Lake Township.

Alex Stewart, the expert trail builder who has been brought into design a new trail system has experience with “epic.” A trail system he designed for Brown County State Park in Indiana was named one of 57 “epic” rides worldwide — a “bucket list” of rides that “will blow your mind” — by the International Mountain Bicycling Association this year.

Stewart said Owasippe “absolutely” could one day be considered epic — a designation that, like Brown County, could attract tens of thousands of visitors a year.

The trails Stewart is designing “would hold the mileage and variety to be considered epic,” he said.

Nate Phelps has seen the potential for Owasippe to become a regional mountain-biking destination for years. Phelps, the president of the Michigan Mountain Biking Association, said mountain bikers currently travel to Copper Harbor in the Upper Peninsula or Brown County, Ind., for “epic” riding. The High County Pathway in the Pigeon River State Forest near Vanderbilt also is an “epic” ride.

“From our viewpoint, we're looking to develop (Owasippe) into what's known as a destination trail, a designation that is loosely applied to trails that are of a length of 18 miles or longer. We are pretty confident we could push well above that,” said Phelps, who also is a board member with the West Michigan Mountain Biking Alliance.

The WMBA with support from the West Michigan Coast Riders Cycling Club have paid to have Stewart design a new trail system at Owasippe. The looped trail system for everyone from beginners to experts would replace current trails that are eroding so badly that mountain biking has been banned from them.

The WMBA plans to build to Stewart's designs using volunteers from its organization and even Boy Scouts who camp at the 100-year-old reservation for six weeks each summer.

“Alex has a really clear understanding of Midwest terrain,” said Phelps, who describes that as lots of short “ups and downs.” “Because of that and his expertise … he's gotten a lot of respect from riders and land managers.”

Chronicle file photoReplacing bridges like this one at Owasippe would be part of the development of a new trail system.

Managing Owasippe when Boy Scouts aren't camping there is the Owasippe Outdoor Education Center, which invited the WMBA to help redevelop the trails. Mitch Dennison, director of development for the OOEC, said he envisions mountain-bike racing and triathlons on Owasippe's trails.